Understanding the role of candidates and the Internet Local E-Democracy Symposium Presentation Understanding…

Understanding the role of candidates and the Internet

Local E-Democracy Symposium Presentation

Understanding the role of Candidates and the Internet

By Ravi Singh



Some Interesting Facts

• The number of people who got information on-line on where to vote grew more than 150% to nearly 14 million people.

• The number of people who participated in online discussions or chats grew 57% to about 4.5 million people.

• 35% of Internet users, or about 43 million people, said that they used email to discuss politics.

• 49% of all Internet users said that “the Internet raised the overall quality of overall debate” during the 2004 campaign. Only 5% said the quality of debate was lowered.

• “Traditional advertising (TV, Radio, and newspaper) is no longer enough. Blasting emails, faxes, online audio/video commercials are becoming more effective in targeting voters and increasing contributions exponentially. 17 million people sent emails about campaigns to friends & family alone!”

• “Over 4 MILLION people donated funds online and the number is growing rapidly every year. Taking advantage of the various forms of online money is a must for today’s campaign.”

• “25 MILLION people use the internet to verify claims made by candidates. Voters and donors expect content and credit card transactions to be secure and safe…creating trust over the web is crucial to winning strategies.”

• “75 MILLION Americans get their political news online. Did internet use make a difference in the election? Yes. The most successful campaigns relied on it to gain over their competitors by using up-to-date data and deploying it to their advantage.”



What is technology in relationship to campaigns and elections?



GOTV • “The Internet facilitated greater precision in campaign targeting at

each stage of the get-out-the vote process (GOTV): locating likely supporters, establishing communication lines with them, delivering messages to them affording them opportunities to help the campaign, and making sure that they registered and cast their ballots.” – The Internet and Campaign 2004 (Pew Research Center)



GOTV Methods• Get-out-the E-mail

14% of the American Public received e-mails from campaigns between Sept 6 and Nov, 2.

• Get-out-the Call40% of the American Public received phone calls from campaigns between Sept. 6 and Nov. 2.

• Get-Out-the TextAbility to reach voters instantly to raise funds, mobilize voters, and inform people of breaking news.

• E-Groups/E-LeadersOnline volunteers create “virtual precincts” and assume responsibility to create their own e-mail lists and ensure that people turn out to vote.

• Get-Local SoftwareEnables supporters to set-up gatherings and allows parties and advocacy groups to create databases to identify voters and local volunteers.



The Traditional Strategy

Political Action Committee (PAC)/

Organizations/ 527’s

Candidates

Volunteers

Staff

Voters



The New Winning Strategy



Have you secured the fundamentals?The ABC’s

Domain Names Buy .com, .org, .biz, .net, .usa Register to Candidate Always Buy candidates name Buy campaign name for 2 years

Web Hosting Private email address 50 MB of space Asp. net & PHP Code Can support web cam OC-3 Connection

Web Development Home page – front of the site Additional pages (approx. 5) Database (ACCESS, SQL)

E-mail Campaigning Online Fundraising Auto Responders Recruit Volunteers

E-campaign Strategy Online Search Engine

Optimization Campaign tools for

coordination Online Town halls



The formula for success!



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Understanding the role of candidates and the Internet Local E-Democracy Symposium Presentation Understanding…